Five Survive Book Review
Five Survive by Holly Jackson book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 4-14-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 7.7/10
Book Cover Rating: 9.1/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: Five Survive
Author: Holly Jackson
Pages: 388
Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Thriller
Subplots: Mystery, Horror
Romance Level: 0.5/3
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 2022
Number of Editions: 51
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audio
Awards Won: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
# of Goodreads Ratings: 220,339
Amazon Rating: 4.3/5
# of Amazon Ratings: 8,086
Common Sense Media Age Recommendation: 14+
Movie/TV Show?? : No
Book Type: Standard
POV Type: Single, First Person
Pacing: Fast
Generally: Six friends trapped in RV with sniper outside, lies, secrets
My Review
Going Into It:
Going into this book, I was super excited to read another book by Holly Jackson!!
Main Characters:
Redford Kenny- Red is the main character of this book. She is seventeen years old. She is generally a good person, but deals with immense trauma and self-doubt. Her family is poor.
Madeline Lavoy- Maddy is Red’s best friend. Maddy is also seventeen. She is rich and generally has a flat personality.
Oliver Lavoy- Oliver is Maddy’s brother. He assumes he is in control, and feels comfortable ordering others around. He seems to be completely confident, but in reality has insecurities and can make morally questionable decisions.
Reyna Flores-Serrano- Reyna is Oliver’s girlfriend. She is calm and levelheaded. She tries her best to be a peacekeeper.
Arthur Grant- Arthur is the least close to the others. Simon is really the only one he knows before the RV trip. He seems nice and treats people well.
Simon Jinsan Yoo- Simon has a naturally jokester, funny personality. He enjoys making others laugh. But, once he feels enough pressure, he can expose insecurities and vulnerability.
Okay… In this book we definitely had six very different characters. I liked Red, the main character, but sometimes her past trauma was a little over emphasized. I also felt like some of the others had more potential than was used (REYNA!!). I almost feel like this would have been better with flashbacks/POVs from all six characters.
Character Rating: 5.7/10
Setting:
This book takes place in an RV in rural North Carolina.
Wow! This whole setting took place in just a few hours. The atmosphere of this book was AMAZING, thrilling, full of tension, mysterious, etc. I also really liked the idea to set the whole book in an RV….with six people….at night….with a sniper outside….
Setting Rating: 9.3/10
Plot:
Hmm…. I LOVED the basis of this book/the idea behind it. I think it was pretty well executed, and there were some moments that I loved within this book. On the other hand, there were some significant parts that felt undeveloped.
Plot Rating: 7.0/10
Writing:
Holly Jackson is an amazing young adult author, and did a great job with this book. I was never confused, and always engaged in the story.
Writing Rating: 9.2/10
Ending:
To be honest, I did guess a couple of the more obvious plot twists. But, others completely baffled me. I would say that overall I’m satisfied with this ending, but there was still definitely room for improvement.
Ending Rating: 7.2/10
The Overall:
Overall this was a good, young adult thriller. The setting/atmosphere was exciting and tense. But, I felt like the characters and plot had some room for improvement. The ending was satisfying, but nothing world-changing. Holly Jackson did a great job writing this young adult thriller. This was a good book that I’m sure fans of young adult thrillers would like.
Overall Book Rating: 7.7/10
I would recommend this book
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Holly Jackson went to the University of Nottingham
She studied creative writing and literary linguistics
She lives in London
For more information, view Holly Jackson’s website: agoodgirlsguidetomurderpodcast.com
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